Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Samarra

Battle of Samarra was a battle fought in AD 363 at Samarra, in what is now Iraq. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Samarra. It was part of the Julian's Persian expedition. The recorded result: Sasanian victory.

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FoughtAD 363
WhereSamarra, Iraq34.196N, 43.886E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeSasanian victory
BelligerentsSasanian EmpireagainstRoman Empire
Part ofJulian's Persian expeditionAD 363

Where it sits in the Julian's Persian expedition

Siege of Maiozamalcha, AD 363Siege of Pirisabora, AD 363Battle of Ctesiphon, AD 363Battle of Samarra, AD 363Battle of Maranga, AD 363AD 363AD 363Battle of Samarra, AD 363
5 placed engagements of the Julian's Persian expedition in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateAD 363 (year precision)
PlaceSamarra, Iraq
34.196N, 43.886E
KindBattle, ancient
Commanders
Battle of SamarraBattle of SamarraBattle of IstabulatBattle of al-AnbarBattle of SamarraBattle of NahrawanBattle of MaskinBattle of NahrawanBattle of MaskinBaghdadAl FallujahTikritMandali100 km34.196N, 43.886E
Placed at Samarra; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Samarra
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Samarra today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-07-09. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 80 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 47 to 88 m, 41 m of relief, flat country and today it is 49% built-up, 32% bare ground, 7% water.

built-up: 49%bare ground: 32%water: 7%tree cover: 5%cropland: 5%built-up 49%bare ground 32%water 7%tree cover 5%cropland 5%
west to east, 10.0 km56 to 83 mnorth to south, 10.0 km67 to 84 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 363

Battle of Samarra is one of 70 engagements of the 4th century in the atlas and one of 206 in present-day Iraq.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1231697, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Samarra (363), revision 1370273495, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.